I swept, she scraped

I saw a small group of people erect an entire church building in just 24 hours, complete with carpet, furnishings, baptizing pool and electronics.

When saw it on the evening news my wife and I were so excited about the prospect of something like that happening that we put on tennis shoes, grabbed a vacum cleaner and went to join in the fun.

A small Pentecostal Church in Sterlington, La., with only 30 members, received help from the United Pentecostal Church and a swarm of volunteers came to erect a church for them in just one day. It's part of something the Pentacostals call "Church-in-a-day." In which others help small churches get started.

It was an amazing thing to see. Carpenters, bricklayers, cooks, electricians and just plain folks from all over the country converged on little Sterlington at 7 a.m. Friday morning, facing nothing but a concrete slab. By noon, they had the frame built. By mid afternoon the roof and shingles were in place, along with electrical wiring and air conditioning.

My wife and I were the among the handful of locals who were present. We're not Pentecostal, we just saw a wonderful thing happening and decided to pitch in. We were asked to help clean the floors for the carpet. I pushed a broom and my wife handled a floor scraper like a pro.

Just as promised, in 24 hours they built a church.

I sat and listened to friendly conversations, everyone addressed as "My Brother or My Sister." There was spirit of fellowship in the air. For a few hours there was a heavenly atmosphere, all races, ages and varying denominations all working together for a common cause.

We watched and talked about what we saw and pondered what would happen if more people would do a little less lip service and little more real service without the thought of being paid or recognized?

There is a bible scripture in Nehemiah 4:6 that says, "So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work."


The North Pointe Pentacostal Church is up now. They had a mind to work.

They are having their first worship in the new building today.

I was glad to be a floor sweeper in the project.

See video.

I saw the roses this morning

Across the street from my house, my neighbor has several rose bushes that bloom this time of the year. They are beautiful.

Apparently the roses have been in bloom for quite some time but I hardly paid them any attention. This morning I focused on them and appreciated their beauty. They have always been there, brightening up our street, I've just been so busy that I did not see them.

Life can get that way sometimes. We can be so busy that we don't see the little things that make it enjoyable. It's great to see the forest, but the real joy is in the trees.

We worry about paying bills, getting ahead, making money, succeeding and many of the other details of what we call life. In the meantime we often miss the simple joys all around us: friends, family, and a plethora of little things that are important but often go unnoticed.

While I saw the roses today,I sat still for a few minutes and I also heard the birds singing and the wind rustling through the trees.

They've all been there all the time, I just didn't notice them.

Song of Solomon 2:1 says, "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."

Sometimes we get so busy, we miss HIM, too.